Key retaining device

ABSTRACT

A combination key retainer and leverage tool device is provided to facilitate manual control and force required to manipulate any one of a plurality of keys whereby a relatively small person such as a child or woman is more able to open a typical locking mechanism such as a pin-tumbler type lock. Separate means are provided with the device to enable rapid key identification, positive key retention and to implement changing of keys retained in the device.

[ Sept. 24, 1974 United States Patent 11 1 Monk [5 1 KEY RETAINING DEVICE 2,696,101 12/1954 70/456R [76] Inventor: Carl E Monk, 428 Southland Blvd 2,764,202 9 1956 70/456 R Louisville, Ky, 40214 June 22, 1973 Primary Examiner-Robert L. Wolfe [22] Filed:

Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Carl E. Monk 21 Appl. No.2 372,653

[57] ABSTRACT A combination key retainer and leverage tool device is provided to facilitate manual control and force required to manipulate any one of a plurality of keys whereby a relatively small person such as a child or Rmoom 5940 42 a5 9 0 5., 7 47 MA ,5 NEW mmvm mm R W06 ""5 "4 m0 mn Tn C .r. "3 e mu In C WM Umm 11]] 2 00 555 [[vl'L woman is more able to open a typical locking mechanism such as a pin-tumbler type lock. Separate means are provided with the device to enable rapid key iden- [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS t n e m .w P .m m a r. u mv .m 6 F n g 6 n Uh .M nt en 3 i r. r D Wm km m e w m mm C w 8 pf 0 g .mm m a .vmh LC RR R 6646 SSW-D MM7M 00 0 77 7 1,669,945 5/1928 Michailovsky.......,............ 1,974,558 9/1934 2,433,644 12/1947 Bennetch KEY RETAINING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Over the years a myriad of both simple and relatively complicated key cases and retainers has been made available for use by the public for conveniently holding keys in a cluster whereby keys for locks of a home, office or automobile, etc., are readily available for use. Such retainers may comprise a simple screw-post binder, a small chain or a more sophisticated and expensive wallet-type holder having a plurality of keyretaining snap hooks.

The typical key-retaining device of the prior art, while serving its purpose to maintain keys in a readily available cluster, generally serves no other purpose and is particularly deficient in regard to providing means to improve manipulation of a key in opening alock. In fact, the typical key-retaining device often contributes a problem of its own by being cumbersome to handle when manipulating a key in a lock, providing little or no leverage to enable a positive twisting action particularly when the lock cylinder is somewhat resistive to turning. Moreover, the typical key case or key chain has no means there with to facilitate key selection where direct visual selection is rendered difficult due to darkness. Furthermore, key retainers are all too often made simply to accomplish the key-retaining function without regard to durability and the likelihood of damage thereto occurring through normal use.

Prior art key retaining devices in the general area of art of the present invention are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,658,431 issued to A. F. Dodson on Feb. 7, 1928, and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,362,200 issued to H. S. Lanier, issued Jan. 9, I968. The Dodson device utilizes screw posts for holding the parts of his device together. My experience has shown screw posts, despite attempts to provide binding means therewith, will tend to work loose after a time and permit a key, during use, to wobble relative to the key holder, Such screw posts, I believe, have the disadvantage of eventually loosening to where the holder becomes disassembled, often resulting in the loss of one or more keys. The Lanier key holder is designed to enable rapid key removal and installation when it is desired to substitute keys in the key holder. However, the twisting action of using this key holder to manipulate a key in a lock tends to exert a spreading force against the main frame of the key holder that can result in dislodging a key entirely from the holder during use.

The present invention is directed toward the provision of a combination key retainer and leverage tool device in the form of a key case which obviates the foregoing problems in a comparatively simple and inexpensive arrangement. A primary objective of the present invention is the provision of a key retainer which also serves as means for extending the effective length of the typical key whereby a small or relatively weak person, such as a small child, a woman, or a person advanced in years, is better able to exert the force necessary to cause a stubborn lock cylinder to responsively turn after the proper key shank is inserted therein.

It is a specific objective of the present invention to provide a key retaining device utilizing a pair of side-toside elongated parallel plate members for retaining keys therebetween and permitting rotation of each key from a stored to a use position, with all components of the device being resistant to wear or responsive movement as an incident of key rotation.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a key retaining device having means therewith to enable rapid key identification by the user.

Still another objective of the present invention is to provide a key retaining device having an exceptionally positive means of key retention that nevertheless may be manipulated to substitute keys in the retaining device as desired.

An ancillary but nevertheless important objective of the invention is to provide the foregoing objectives in a highly acceptable esthetically pleasing form.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In its major aspect the present invention is a key holder or retaining device and leverage tool combination for retaining a plurality of keys generally of the type cut from a flat blank to have a widened head portion and a notched and grooved shank portion that engages pin tumblers in a cylinder lock. The combination or device of the present invention includes a pair of elongated complimentary plate members having means in the form of end post portions projecting from one of the members and through accommodating holes of the other plate member whereby the plate members are united in parallel relation and spaced apart by keys sandwiched therebetween. The post portions are firmly staked to one of the plate members, which may be described as the base plate member. The other plate member, which is removably mounted on the face plate member, has spaced-apart transverse holes therethrough comprising retaining means for use with removable pins for holding the plate members together. The holes and pins of the post portions are designed to hold the removable plate member relatively tightly against keys retained between the plate members whereby a manual twisting force exerted on the entire unit made up of the plate members is translated through a key extended therefrom to provide greater manipulating leverage in utilizing the key in a lock. Further, the distance between the post portions is sufficient to enable keys retained on the post portions between the plate members to be rotated inwardly between the plate members for storage whereby the shank portions of keys extending inwardly from the post portions will align between the plate members.

A flexible wrapper element of leather or similar material is utilized to form a cover about the plate member unit and has one edge thereof permanently attached by means of rivets to the base plate member. Provision is made for the rivets, which are spaced apart so that each is adjacent an end of the key-retaining device, to be coded by color, shape or texture whereby the user may quickly ascertain, through visual examination or touch, a specific end of the device wherein a certain key is stored such that rapid selection of a particularly desired key may be made without first opening the enclosing wrapper and examining each key contained therein in turn. The means for retaining the removable plate member on the base plate member, that is, the pins which attach through the holes of the post portions of i the base plate member, may be provided in alternate forms, as will be hereafter described, so long as positive connection is made between the plate members whereby they are held firmly against the keys retained therebetween.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the key holder and leverage tool combination or key-retaining device of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevational view taken at one end of the structure illustrated in FIG. 1 and showing certain components thereof in their installed position;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIG. I there is shown a combination key-levering tool and key-retaining device comprising a pair of rigid elongated plate members 12 and 14 which are adapted to be united to retain keys such as key 16 therebetween. The plate member 12, which may be considered as a base plate member, has integral post portions 18 and 20 projecting at adjacent respective ends thereof, in parallel relation to each other, for insertably accommodating openings 22 and 24 of plate member 14. Plate member 14, which may be described as a removable plate member, is designed to be installed in position in parallel relationship to the base plate 12 by having the openings 22 and 24 slipped downwardly over the post portions 18 and 20 after keys such as 16 have been installed on each of the posts 18 and 20 (see FIG. 2). The illustrated key 16 is typical of the type of key formed from a blank to have a head portion 26 with a retaining aperture 28, and an extended shank portion 30 properly notched and grooved in accordance with the pin tumbler arrangement of the lock for which it is supplied.

Attached to the under surface of the base plate member 12 is a flexible wrapper 32 which may be conformably shaped in accordance with known key retainers to form a case and to enable the shank of a retained key to extend outwardly from the device when the wrapper 32 is entirely wrapped about the structural assembly made up of the plate members and other components of the device 10. The wrapper portion 22 may be decorative and is formed from leather, plastic or similar flexible material and may be provided with snap fastener portions 34 and 36 (FIG. 3) for holding it in the normal wrapped position.

Each of the post portions 18 and 20 are provided with transverse holes 38 extending entirely therethrough to accommodate removable fasteners such as hitch pins 40. The pins 40 are utilized to retain one or more keys on the posts 18 and 20 by holding the removable plate member 14 relatively tightly against the keys and thereby holding the keys between the base plate member 12 and the removable plate member 14.

It will be noted in FIG. 1 that the base plate 12 is attached to the wrapper 32 by means of rivets 42 and 44. These rivets are preferably provided, as shown in FIG. 3, with special dissimilar exposed rivet heads 46 and 48. The rivets 42 and 44 are spaced substantially distant from each other whereby each is adjacent one end of the base plate member 12 whereby the rivet head portions 46 and 48 may be mentally associated with a particular end of the device by the user and thereby utilized as a means of identifying and rapidly selecting a desired end of the closed device. Thus, the user can, for example, associate the ignition key of his car with one end of the device having the rivet head 46 nearest thereto, and he can similarly install his house or apartment key on the post 20 having the rivet head 48 adjacent thereto. Then, the user can ascertain, either by visual inspection in daylight or by touch in darkness, the proper end of the device where the desired key is located. Rivet heads 46 and 48 may be made dissimilar in a number of ways: the heads may be of contrasting metallic finish or colors such as aluminum or brass respectively, and/or they may be provided with dissimilar round and square respective shapes, and/or they may be textured with respective smooth and rough finishes to aid in touch identification.

The key retaining device of the present invention is designed to be selectively adjustable to retain a plurality of keys, preferably from one to four in number. When less than the maximum number of keys are installed in the device, a washer-like tarnish-resistant perforated circular blank is provided for use as a spacer 50 in place of a key on either of the post portions 18 or 20. Ideally, each post 18 and 20 is three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter to accommodate the typical key head, and the transverse holes 38 extending through each post are properly spaced from the surface of the base plate member 19 in accordance with the thickness of the removable plate member 14 and the typical key head whereby keys or a key and spacer 50 retained on the posts 18 and 20 will be rather snuggly held to prevent excess movement ofa key relative to the device in response to twisting force exerted thereon during use in a lock. Keys therein should nevertheless be movable to enable relatively free rotation of the keys about the axis of their respective post portions.

When a pair of keys, or a key and a spacer 50, is mounted on one of the post portions 18 or 20, as shown in FIG. 2, the removable plate 14 is installed whereby the opening 22 slips over the post portion 18 (the same being true at the opposite end of the device not shown in FIG. 2) and the hitch pin 40 is slid into locking engagement on the post portion by insertion of a straight leg member 52 thereof into the proper hole 38 whereby the pins leg portion 54, having a curved configuration, locks against the outside of the post portion. The pin 40 is preferably of spring steel whereby it tends to resist spreading and thereby locks tightly against the post when installed thereon. It should also be noted with reference to FIG. 2 that the post portions 18 or 20 may each be an upward projection from a circular base portion which is soldered or braised against the under surface of the base plate member 12 whereby it becomes integral therewith.

FIG. 4 illustrates in enlarged scale, an alternative construction for posts 18 and 20. Post 18 is shown in FIG. 4 as having oppositely disposed side slots 62 on the same level as the hole 38 whereby an alternate form for a fastener, hitch pin 64, is accommodated. The pin 64 may be constructed of spring steel or any other material having the proper elasticity whereby it will tend to return to its normal shape following flexure during installation. As shown, the pin 64 has a central portion 66 which is bifurcated to have oppositely disposed leg portions 68 formed to slidably snap into the slots 62 when the central portion 66 is inserted in the opening 38 as the pin 64 is forced on to the post 18. It is believed that use of the pin 64 in combination with the slots 62 and the hole 38 of the post 18 provides greater stability for the removable plate 14 and keys therebeneath, because of the symmetrical layout of projecting portions of the pin 64 which extend outwardly around the post 18 and thereby contact the upper exposed surface of the installed plate member 14. This connecting arrangement tends to more firmly stabilize the plate member 14 in its position on retained keys, or keys with one or more spacers 50, such that when the entire device is manually held to cause one of the retained keys to actuate a stubborn lock, the key being used will less likely twist relative to the plate 12 and 14. Thus, the entire device held in the hands of the user serves as a leverage handle to impart greater force to the key, with such force being translated to the lock to be actuated.

It should be noted that when only two keys are employed in the preferred embodiment of the device in accordance with the present invention, a spacer 50 need not be utilized since the removable plate 14 may be installed in a relatively lower position with a key on each post portion 18 and 20, and the hitch pins 40 (or the alternative form shown in FIG. 4) may be installed in the lowermost hole 38 on each post 18 and 20 whereby the plate 14 is held snuggly in a relatively lower position than that shown in FIG. 2.

It should be apparent from the foregoing description that the means for retaining keys in the device that is, the plate members 12 and 14, the post portions 18 and 20, and the pins 40 or 64, are so designed and interrelated that rotating a key from a stored position between the plate members to an extended position for use will not have a responsive effect on the components of the device that will result in eventual inadvertent disassembly whereby a used key will pull away from the device.

This has been accomplished by stationarily attaching each post portion 18 and 20 to the base plate member 12 whereby the post portions will not tend to respond and co-rotate with the keys carried thereon. Further, the post portions extend entirely through the key heads whereby keys are held firmly between the plate members and cannot pull away by a twisting action during use.

The wrapper 32, along its upper flap portion, as shown in FIG. 1, may be perforated at two places, such as perforation 70, in alignment the post portions therebeneath, such that the upper ends of the post portions can extend into the perforations when the wrapper 32 is closed and snapped in place. This arrangement provides a more compact closed unit for carrying in the purse or pocket of the user.

It should be noted that the wrapper 32 is cut along the sides thereof, adjacent the ends of plate members 12 and 14, to not only permit key shank extension when the wrapper is closed but also to enable the user to dispose an extended key at a generally 90 angle to the plate member unit from which the key extends so that the closed case serves a handle to exert force and obtain a mechanical advantage in turning the key in a larly to the preferred embodiment illustrated and described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as particularly defined in the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

I. A key retaining device and leverage tool combination for holding and facilitating manipulation of keys generally of the type cut from a blank to have a flat head portion with a fastening aperture therethrough and a notched and grooved shank portion, said combination comprising: a rigid elongated base plate member having a post portion projecting adjacent each end thereof for insertion through the aperture of one or more key heads, the post portions each provided with at least two spaced-apart holes in a transverse orientation to the post portion axis and projecting outwardly from the same flat surface of said base plate member and extending parallel to each other such that a key head having one of said post portions inserted through its aperture will lay flat against said base plate member such that it is rotatable about the post portion from a stored position against the base plate member to an extended usable position, a removable elongated plate member having openings adjacent each end thereof to enable it to be installed in general parallel relationto said base plate member whereby said post portions project through said openings, each of said post portions having a removable fastner pin for use in cooperation with a selected one of said holes to retain said removable plate member in its installed position, and each of said post portions being stationarily fastened to said base plate member whereby said post portions do not move relative to' said base plate member during the use of said device.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein each of said post portions is further provided with oppositely-disposed surface grooves located radially outwardly from each of said transverse holes, and said fastener pin has a central portion for being inserted through one of said holes and integral leg portions that slidably engage in said grooves.

3. The invention of claim 2 wherein said fastener pin is configured whereby, when installed on said post portion it has a plurality of extending portions projecting outwardly from said post portion in a generally symetrical arrangement thereabout.

4. The invention of claim 1 further comprising a flexible wrapper for enclosing said plate members, said wrapper being attached to said base plate member by a pair of rivets disposed whereby there is one of said rivets adjacent each end of said base plate member, each of said rivets having a portion thereof exposed on the outside of said wrapper, and each of said exposed portions being different from the other whereby a user can identify one end of the closed wrapper from the other by examination and comparison of said exposed portions.

5. The invention of claim 4 wherein said exposed portions have respectively different visual appearances.

6. The invention of claim 4 wherein said exposed portions are different with respect to shape whereby they may be distinguished by the user through visual examination or touch.

7. The invention of claim 4 wherein said exposed portions have different surface finishes whereby each may be distinguished from the other by the user through visual examination or touch.

8. The invention of claim 4 wherein the wrapper is cut, adjacent the ends of the plate members, to enable disposing an extended key retained on one of said post portions, at generally to said plate members. 

1. A key retaining device and leverage tool combination for holding and facilitating manipulation of keys generally of the type cut from a blank to have a flat head portion with a fastening aperture therethrough and a notched and grooved shank portion, said combination comprising: a rigid elongated base plate member having a post portion projecting adjacent each end thereof for insertion through the aperture of one or more key heads, the post portions each provided with at least two spacedapart holes in a transverse orientation to the post portion axis and projecting outwardly from the same flat surface of said base plate member and extending parallel to each other such that a key head having one of said post portions inserted through its aperture will lay flat against said base plate member such that it is rotatable about the post portion from a stored position against the base plate member to an extended usable position, a removable elongated plate member having openings adjacent each end thereof to enable it to be installed in general parallel relation to said base plate member whereby said post portions project through said openings, each of said post portions having a removable fastner pin for use in cooperation with a selected one of said holes to retain said removable plate member in its installed position, and each of said post portions being stationarily fastened to said base plate member whereby said post portions do not move relative to said base plate member during the use of said device.
 2. The invention of claim 1 wherein each of said post portions is further provided with oppositely-disposed surface grooves located radially outwardly from each of said transverse holes, and said fastener pin has a central portion for being inserted through one of said holes and integral leg portions that slidably engage in said grooves.
 3. The invention of claim 2 wherein said fastener pin is configured whereby, when installed on said post portion it has a plurality of extending portions projecting outwardly from said post portion in a generally symetrical arrangement thereabout.
 4. The invention of claim 1 further comprising a flexible wrapper for enclosing said plate members, said wrapper being attached to said base plate member by a pair of rivets disposed whereby there is one of said rivets adjacent each end of said base plate member, each of said rivets having a portion thereof exposed on the outside of said wrapper, and each of said exposed portions being different from the other whereby a user can identify one end of the closed wrapper from the other by examination and comparison of said exposed portions.
 5. The invention of claim 4 wherein said exposed portions have respectively different visual appearances.
 6. The invention of claim 4 wherein said exposed portions are different with respect to shape whereby they may be distinguished by the user through visual examination or touch.
 7. The invention of claim 4 wherein said exposed portions have different surface finishes whereby each may be distinguished from the other by the user through visual examination or touch.
 8. The invention of claim 4 wherein the wrapper is cut, adjacent the ends of the plate members, to enable disposing an extended key retained on one of said post portions, at generally 90* to said plate members. 